Big Jack

“Got me there. You want me to tell you where you weren’t brilliant? Right from the start. You didn’t do your homework, Trevor, didn’t dot all your i’s. Your grandfather wouldn’t have been so sloppy. He’d have known Samantha Ga

She enjoyed watching his face go gray in shock. It was small of her, she admitted, but she enjoyed it. “That was sloppy, too. You just needed a little more forethought. Take her over to New Jersey, say. Romantic picnic in the woods, get what you needed from her, take her out, bury her.” Eve shrugged. “But you didn’t think it through.”

“You can’t trace her back to me. No one ever saw-” He cut himself off.

“No one ever saw you together? Wrong. I got an eye-witness. And when Dix comes out of it, he’ll tell us how he talked to you about Ga

“He’ll never testify against me.”

“Your grandmother’s alive.” She saw his eyes flicker. “He’s with her now, and he knows you left his mother, the woman who spent her life trying to protect him, lying in the dirt like garbage. What would it have cost you? Fifteen minutes, a half hour? You call for help, play the concerned, devoted grandson. Then you slip away. But she wasn’t worth even that much effort from you. When you think about it, she was still protecting her son. Only this time, she protected him from you.”

She lifted the bulldozer, held it between them. “History repeats. You’re going to pay, just the way your grandfather paid. You’re going to know, just the way he knew, that those big, bright diamonds are forever out of his reach. Which is worse? I wonder. The cage or the knowing?”

She got to her feet, stared down at him. “We’ll talk again soon.”

“I want to see them.”

Eve picked up the truck, tucked it under her arm. “I know. Book him,” she ordered, and strolled away while Trevor cursed her.

Epilogue

It wasn’t what she’d call standard procedure, but it seemed right. She could even make a case for logical. Precautions and security measures had to be taken, and paperwork filed. As all parties were cooperative, the red tape was minimal.

She had a room full of civilians in conference room A, Cop Central. Plenty of cops, too. Her investigative team were all present, as was the commander.

It had been his idea to alert the media-that was the political side that irked her, even though she understood the reasoning. Understanding or not, she’d have a damn press conference to deal with afterward.

For now, the media hounds were cooling their heels, and despite the number of people in the room, it was very quiet.

She’d put names to faces. Samantha Ga

They looked fit, she thought, and rock steady. And unified. What was that like? she wondered. To have more than half a century together and still have, still need that co

Steven Whittier and his wife were there. She hadn’t known exactly what to expect by mixing those two elements, but sometimes people surprised you. Not by being morons or assholes, that never surprised her. But by being decent.

Max Ga

The moment-the decency of that moment-burned Eve’s throat. Her eyes met Roarke’s, and she saw her reaction mirrored in them.

With or without jewels, a circle had closed.

“Lieutenant.” Whitney nodded to her.

“Yes, sir. The New York Police and Security Department appreciates your cooperation and your attendance here today. That cooperation has, in a very large part, assisted this department in closing this case. The deaths of… ”

She’d had very specific, very straight-lined statements prepared. She let them go, and said what came into her mind.

“Jerome Myers, William Young, Andrea Jacobs, Tina Cobb. Their deaths can never be resolved, only the investigation into those deaths can be resolved. It’s the best we can do. Whatever they did, whoever they were, their lives were taken, and there’s never a resolution to murder. The officers in this room-Commander Whitney; Captain Feeney; Detectives Baxter, McNab, Peabody; Officer Trueheart-have done what can be done to resolve the case and find justice for the dead. That’s our job and our duty. The civilians here-the Ga

She took the bulldozer from the box she’d unsealed. It had been sca

“Or in this case, we move back. Mr. Whittier, for the record. This object has been determined to be your property. You’ve given written permission for it to be dismantled. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve agreed to do this dismantling yourself at this time.”

“Yes. Before I… I’d like to say, to apologize for-”

“It isn’t necessary, Steven.” Laine spoke quietly, her hand still caught in Max’s. “Lieutenant Dallas is right. Some things can never be resolved, so we can only do our best.”

Saying nothing, he nodded and picked up the tools on the conference table. While he worked, Laine spoke again. Her voice was lighter now, as if she’d determined to lift the mood.

“Do you remember, Max, sitting at the kitchen table with that silly ceramic dog?”

“I do.” He brought their joined hands to his lips. “And that damn piggy bank. All it took was a couple whacks with a hammer. Lot more work involved here.” He patted Steve’s shoulder.

“You were a cop before,” Eve put in.

“Before the turn of the century, then I went private. Don’t imagine it’s all that different. You got slicker toys and tools, but the job’s always been the job. If I was born a few decades later, I’d’ve been an e-man.” He gri

“I’d be glad to give you a personal tour. You’re still working private, aren’t you?”

“When a case interests me.”

“They almost always do,” Laine put in. “Once a cop,” she said with a laugh.

“Tell me about it,” Roarke agreed.

Metal pieces clattered to the table and cut off conversation.

“There’s padding inside.” Steve cleared his throat. “It’s clear enough to get it out.” But he pushed away from the table. “I don’t want to do it. Mrs. Ga

“No. We’ve done our part. All of us. It’s police business now, isn’t it? It’s for Lieutenant Dallas now. But I hope you’ll do it fast, so I can breathe again.”

To solve the matter, Eve lifted the detached body of the truck, reached in to tug out the padding. She laid it on the table, pulled it apart and picked up the pouch nested inside.

She opened the pouch and poured the stones into her hand.

“I didn’t really believe it.” Samantha let out a trapped breath. “Even after all this, I didn’t really believe it. And there they are.”

“After all this time.” Laine watched as Eve dripped the glittering diamonds onto the pouch. “My father would have laughed and laughed. Then tried to figure how he could palm a couple of them on his way out the door.”

Peabody edged in, and Eve gave her a moment to goggle before she elbowed her back. “They’ll need to be verified, authenticated and appraised, but-”

“Mind?” Without waiting, Roarke plucked one up, drew a loupe out of his pocket. “Mmm, spectacular. First water, full-cut, about seven carats. Probably worth twice what it was when it was tucked away. There’ll be all sorts of interesting and complicated maneuvers, I imagine, between the insurance company and the heirs of the original owners.”